Shortie Process Vids

Lots of people have jumped on the TikTok bandwagon, which they seem to love, but I just can’t quite bear to sign up for yet another social media app when I don’t even post on the ones I have as often as I like. So rather than guilt trip my way around another time-suck, I’ve been having fun making shortie vids for Instagram and YouTube.

Here’s a few fun little ditties of my art making process, and you can subscribe to me on YouTube here (and make sure to ding the bell!) to see my future Shorts too!

I try to find cute music to accompany my drawing or painting so make sure you’re not watching them on mute!

These two (above and below) are processes if my current painting, which you can imagine has been quite time consuming! But in the end is very satisfying to have accomplished. I’ll be sharing the finished painting first on my Birds of a Feather monthly letter, which you can sign up for here if you haven’t already.

Last but not least, here’s a small alla prima pitcher plant mini painting from a photo I took at a botanical garden on O’ahu. These little plants are so mysterious and full of personality!

8.26.2021

Coronavirus :: Artist Tips for a Global Pandemic

Well folks, I would have to say we are pretty much smack dab in the middle of the most uncertain of times... who would have thought that the biggest enemy of 2020 is shaping up to be human contact?!

The good news is that you are absolutely not alone and so many other artists are having to brave and navigate this strange new COVID-19 world right along with you. You know I've firmly believed that we can all work together as artists to come up and now it's imperative we do so to rise above as well.

You've got this. I promise.

Go learn some new skills! Free Skillshare membership for two months here!

Get 20% off my entire Shop while supporting this lil Bird:) Use code PANDEMIC

Helpful Resources:

https://www.varsitytutors.com/

https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2019/11/online-tutoring-jobs.html

https://www.fiverr.com

https://onairvideo.com/model-index

Own Your Instagram for Artists: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEiBtAnS58WG2Mz2vPsOkSp1IYMGld_a7

Real time painting of part of this hand: https://youtu.be/8kfUf7CnjWI

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Yep, I'm available for art mentoring via webcam! I'm happy to help fellow up-and-coming artists with anything from technique to small business advice, as well as with perfecting your portfolio or thesis. **See my lower pandemic rates**

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Art supplies purchased through these links help support my channel:):)

Golden Taklon Brush Set: https://bit.ly/2JiEfIH

Canvas Pad: https://bit.ly/2UM5C3c

Titanium White: https://bit.ly/2Uqiugo

Naples Yellow: https://bit.ly/2UKShbB

Yellow Ochre: https://bit.ly/2vTIlE8

Cadmium Orange: https://bit.ly/3dAtRdl

Napthol Red: https://bit.ly/2WO7DP7

Burnt Sienna: https://bit.ly/39qVu5s

Raw Umber: https://bit.ly/2xrsAF5

Turquoise: https://bit.ly/2QQ84EU

Payne's Grey: https://bit.ly/3arumV1

3.28.2020

New Studio Tour Sneak Peek

Oh my gosh I cannot believe it has taken me this long to do a proper studio tour! Ha! What can I say, it takes a while for me to perfect my little work space nest ;) 

Today I am only sharing a few photos of my bungalow so you'll have to tune in Wednesday for the 2 minute quickie tour and then I'll have detailed vids of my art setup as well as my living space, lanai, and outdoor bathroom (which is beyond amazing!) coming out in the following weeks. 

This where the magic happens! I prefer a standing easel for pretty much all my art-making.

I'm literally sitting on my ergonomic chair sitting at this desk typing right now...

I built this elevated bed myself!! Can't wait to show you how I did it!

So that's most of the inside area - tune in the next three Wednesdays for the detailed tour inside and out!

**Or pop your email down below to get the tour delivered to your inbox all neat 'n tidy:)**

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originally published May 14, 2018

'Morning Dew' Figure Painting Demo - Timelapse + Technique

Aloha from the sunniest studio around! I have been having so much fun playing with light and shadows for this next series of oil paintings - this reference image even came from the early morning sunlight beaming through my outdoor bathroom.

Hence the warm shadows and cool highlights in this piece - a wild reversal!

Today's video features a timelapse of the painting process of 'Morning Dew' along with a voiceover by yours truly where I discuss various techniques I use and some color mixing tips. Hopefully you find it helpful as well as enjoyable to watch. Pop me a comment and tell me whatcha think - more like this? How about real time vids with technique discussion? 

But this painting is not over yet, friend! I am going to be bringing a bit of flora and a dash of magic to this piece..... just you wait ;) 

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originally published January 24, 2018

Mixing Caucasian Skin Tones in Oil

Hiya fellow artistas! Today's vid is kind of a double whammy because you get a sneak peek of my latest artistic venture as well as a very informative lesson (uh..... not to mention, BOOTY!). What can I say, I wanna start 2018 off with a bang:)

I go into detail on my palette and mixes and then do a little demo showing how even after I mix my skin tones I continue to accentuate certain areas of the figure with warm or cool tones as needed. Hope you learn a lil something! And if you do, a 'Subscribe' on my channel would be fantastic! 

Here's how I start my palette:

And here's a tiny sample of my reference photo (you'll just have to wait 'n see why I'm only sharing a tiny piece of it [squeeee!]:

Enjoy the show!!

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originally published January 2, 2018

Oil Painting Portrait Demo - 'Anastasia'

Oh boy, have I got a special treat for you today! My very first full-length portrait oil painting demo - Woo Hoo! You get to watch me speed paint this lovely muse in about 1% of the time it took me to actually paint it - ha! I've been finding better and better copyright free music recently, so the soundtrack get's pretty jammin' too ;)

In case you were curious about my incredible Malaysian muse, 'Anastasia' is a delightful and inspiring person inside and out and I was thrilled for the opportunity to paint her as part of my ongoing Bohemian Goddesses collection, in which I lovingly highlight creative and confident women from all over the world with my portraiture. You can read my paragraph about the woman behind the painting here. 

oil on linen, 12x16 inches prints available

Hope you enjoy the demo today! Go ahead and hit that Subscribe button while you're there so you don't miss any future vids:) 

What's on my palette...?

Here's a list of every oil paint I used for the entire work, and below you'll see a few color mixes from specific sections:

• Cadmium Orange
• Burnt Sienna
• Raw Umber
• Magenta
• King's Blue
• Cobalt Blue
• Terra Verte

• Titanium White
• Mars Black
• Paynes Grey
• Naples Yellow
• Yellow Ochre
• Flesh Tint*
• Brilliant Pink

* Flesh tint is actually only used in the turban; it's an incredibly vivid pink color that would only work in tiny doses when painting skin tones. 

Above was my initial palette for painting the turban and I later incorporated that with the rest of the paint needed for her skin tones. Here are most of the mixtures I developed while painting 'Anastasia'. Yep, even the dark green and blue went in there. 

So I've noticed a lot of other YouTube artists answer questions or talk about certain topics while showing their speed demos. Leave me any comments, questions or topic suggestions if you'd like to hear my thoughts over future demos:) 

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originally posted September 26, 2017

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How To Clean Up After Oil Painting

Welcome, fellow artist, to another Tutorial Tuesday! Today I am sharing how to best and most efficiently clean up your oil painting station. I strongly recommend taking 10-15 minutes to thoroughly clean up every time you finish.

For one, it's waaaaaaay easier and faster to just tidy up as you go rather than scraping dry paint. And for two, it will make your easel area more appealing to jump right back into whatever you're working on because it will be all neat and ready. I mean, I know when I'm struck with a bolt of inspiration the last thing I want to do is scrape paint for 20 minutes and potentially let my inspo fizzle out.

So here's a short vid all about my easy methods for keeping a clean palette and organized workspace that's super conducive to harnessing creativity. Enjoy! 

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originally posted: May 27, 2017

Painting Eyebrows, Eyelashes and Really Short Hair

Welcome to another Tutorial Tuesday! Today I am continuing with my 'Nubia' portrait in an oil painting demo to share with you of my technique for painting her eyelashes, eyebrows, and super short hair. Since I tend to paint my works in color/object/surface texture groups with dry time in between, I will have another video showing me painting her thick braids. 

Today also features the first exclusive video release to my Patreon page as well. Woo Hoo! (Don't know about Patreon? Click here for info) For my wonderful loyal viewers I have this speed painting demo available here and on my YouTube channel, but for my $5 and up Patreon contributors I will have the same video in real time PLUS step-by-step explanations.  

I also have a tutorial about painting rich melanin skin tones right here.

Do you love my muse as much as I do? You can find Nubia and see her fantastic and creative makeup artistry at
https://www.instagram.com/nubiasilvermakeup 

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originally posted: March 21, 2017

Painting a Melanin-Rich, Golden Honey Skin Tone

Welcome back to another painting tutorial! Today I am sharing the process of painting this lovely warm skin tone on 'Nubia' via a video tutorial. Her skin is a beautiful golden honey hue so I used very little green and more ochre and burnt sienna paint than usual for the mix. 

These tones are very similar to the tones I created for 'Anjel' a couple months ago, which I did a very comprehensive blog post about which colors I mixed for that portrait.

 Here is that super informative post - just remember to use a bit more ochre and burnt sienna than in the Anjel photos in order to achieve Nubia's tones (pictured below). 

On this palette, the skin tones variations are along the right side, with the primary (unmixed) paints on the left side and all along the bottom. Nubia's lip color is in the middle and the background blues are at the very top edge.

Paint mixes and my original blog post: https://www.caleighbirdart.com/artist-blog/2017/3/14/tutorial-tuesdays-painting-a-melanin-rich-golden-honey-skin-tone Do you enjoy my videos and want to see me create more? Visit my Patreon feed! https://www.patreon.com/caleighbird Subscribe to my channel and check out my artist blog for lots of other fine art Tutorial Tuesdays:) https://http://www.caleighbirdart.com/artist-blog?category=Tutorial+Tuesdays https://www.CaleighBirdArt.com My Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/caleighbirdart https://www.facebook.com/caleighbirdart

So have a look-sy at the tutorial and let me know what you think. Have you had success recreating my tones? Feel free to leave me a comment about how you found the vid:)

Do you love my muse as much as I do? You can find Nubia and see her fantastic and creative makeup artistry at @nubiasilvermakeup 

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originally posted: March 14, 2017

Tutorial Tuesdays :: Painting a Melanin Rich Skin Tone (Part Two - Demo)

Welcome to my first ever painting tutorial demo! It was definitely a bit of a learning experience recording and editing it, and I have a few improvements I'll be working on before my next one, but all in all hopefully you can glean something interesting out of my video. 

If you haven't already, make sure to check out last week's Tutorial Tuesday to see what is on my palette and which colors I mix for my skin tones. Alright, get ready for a somewhat cheesy Caleigh Bird....

Hope you enjoyed it! I would love your thoughts or impressions in the comments, especially since it's my first vid. Thank you! 

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originally posted: November 29, 2016